THE former PM was in Glasgow to issue a rallying call ahead of the independence referendum claiming the Nats are as big a danger to the future of hard-working families as the Conservatives.

GORDON Brown has warned Scots that voting for independence to get rid of the Tory Government would be a huge mistake.

The former Prime Minister says the issues at stake in the referendum debate will outlast David Cameron and the Con-Dems.

In
an exclusive interview with the Record, he said that breaking up the United Kingdom because of anger at the Coalition would put 100 years of Labour and trade union achievements at risk.

The
SNP have put protecting Scots from brutal Tory policies such as the bedroom tax at the top of their agenda. But Brown claimed the Nats are as big a danger to the future of hard-working families as the Conservatives.

He
said: “The Labour case for the UK is about the long-term future of Scotland’s needs and aspirations, and the wishes of Scottish people.

“Decisions have to be made irrespective of whether there is a Conservative Government at Westminster.

“It has to be
about the long-term future of pensions, the minimum wage, National Insurance to pay for the health service, and children’s and family benefits. It also has to be about the currency, interest rates and unemployment.

“All these things are important and will outlast any Conservative Government.”

Brown spoke as Labour launched their campaign to save the Union at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

The United with Labour campaign is separate to the cross-party Better Together movement that also includes Tories and Lib Dems.

Brown outlined what he called the “positive, principled, forward-looking case” for keeping Scotland in Britain.

He
told how he drove from Fife to Glasgow yesterday and remembered famous Scottish Labour figures from the past – such as Keir Hardie, John Wheatley, Jimmy Maxton and Tom Johnston.

He said: “It’s important
for people to remember what happened in Scotland – why we created a UK and not a Scottish welfare state, why we have a UK and not a Scottish minimum wage.

“That wasn’t a
failure on the part of Labour and trade union leaders who pushed for this. It was because they believed it was the best way of achieving social justice for the people of Scotland.

“The more we remind ourselves that for a century we pushed for these changes at a UK level, the more we may remember that to walk away from them would be a huge mistake.”

He
stressed the UK benefits from pooling resources and that breaking away could undermine the NHS, pensions and welfare benefits.

Brown added: “I could put the case for the Union by talking about how our defence needs are common, our security needs are mutual, our environmental concerns are shared and that we are part of one single island.

“But I want to make the most modern case for the Union, for the pooling and sharing of resources so that we tackle poverty, unemployment together.

“I want to make the case for a Union for social justice, dominated by our principle of fairness.”

Brown attacked the SNP’s bid to convince Scots that independence would be beneficial to left-wing politics in Scotland. He said: “Once you look at
what the SNP are saying, you start to see that they are a danger – just
like the Conservatives.”